You surely know of Kiwi actor Dean O'Gorman as the dwarf Fili from Peter Jackson's adaptations of The Hobbit. But it's good odds that you're unaware (I'll raise my hand for starters) of his work as a photographer and an artist -- occupations he's pursued for years.

O'Gorman's first exhibition opens in Wellington this week.

O'Gorman says for the past five years he's spent almost as much time on photography and painting as acting. He's aware that, for some, "Dean O'Gorman - artist" will raise eyebrows. "You can be a musician and become an actor or you can be a painter and become an actor. But actor to something else is always greeted with a fair amount of scepticism."